Means for fastening railway rails to their supports



une 1 192 H. ETHERIDGE MEANS FOR FASTENING RAILWAY RAILS TO THEIR SUPPORTS Filed 1926 TQM R na Patented June 1, 1926.

STATES PATENT o e12 nanny n'rnnnrnsn, or zELIENoPLE, PENNSYLVANIA. v

v MEn s' Eon EASIIFNINGIRAILWAY nAILs TO THEIR surron'rs.

Application file d Feb ru ary 1926 Serial o. 35,719.

I This application is. part, a continuation of Letters' Batent of the United States No. 14,5? 1; ee ed to i Oi Fb fee'r .i

The object which I have in view is the provision f new tachin indivi' ual rail supports, as specifically described in my said-"patei'it application, 'or to crossties or supports -ln"general my improved fastening means permits the longitudinal moveiiiento f tli e, rails due totheii' e pansion or contraction without loosening the fasteniing Ineansor i npairing their eificiency.

*or'this purpose I provide a clamping member which engages the edge of the 'rail base and which isarraiiged to rotate to'a movement of the rail expanding or contracting. v

Preferably provide resilient means for holding :the 'elan' pi 'ig member. in contact contact with'the support.

VVhileI have success'tully made mats of rubbr'for this matof an asp sastisfactory. [prefer to use a plurality of matsfoi e of softer character, such as softer asplialtuin seated tliebottoin' of the recess and amat of harder character-and there-{tore less compressible on'top ofitlie same and protrudin sufficiently from thejrec'es's to essame the support of theraitand preventing the Contact of the latter with the' rail sufpport. I

In the accompanying drawings, wherein I illustrate the best embodiment of the priiiciplesjof my'inveiitionnow:know'n to me, Fig. 1 is a plan v ew showing a'rail fastened to a rail" support; 2 is an enlarged view taken insection along the line H -II in Fig.

i ig JB' is an enlarged broken side elevation the rail and the fastening means; the material of the blockor other rail support being em t d t t slwii t i l l j. fl 'i e t ams me ns; F g- 4 is a Plan ne 9 one ofthe metal anchors which I embed in a'conmete rai suppor t Pr vid m a s Q ta h ss fli1 i l .tliet to F ei an w and improved" i ieaa's "for at the rails to' their's'upports, such as it'ed degree so its-not to interfere with the contact with the support.

ur ose-I have fo'und' that a' ialt'u'm composition is most s'ition."

larged elevation of one of the rail clamps;

Fig. 6 is a similar view of one of the split spring washers'us'ed in the rail attachment,

and Fig. .7 is a sectional detail improved rail mat in use. r

Referring to" the drawings, A represents .a railway rail which is shown supported by an individual support B illustrated as'of concrete. The upper surface of the "support B show ng my is provided With a shallow 'su'nkense'at' 3 in which is placed a resilient cl1air.o' 1"1nat D upon whichth'e rail rests,'the1nat}being of sufiicie'nt'thickness to preventthe rail from contactingdirectly with the support B. The

seat?) extends longitudinally fth Support,

as shown. r

' I have einployed'with good results a soft rubberiiiat for this purposd'but" I find that a composite mat,.such as sh'ownat DQD 'in Fig. 7 gives the "best service. In Fig.7 1 il lustrate the useof an under mat D fof softer material ent rely containedwithin the seat 3 fa'nd'an' upper mat Dioi harder and less resil-ientinaterial partially conta' ined within the recess 3 but protruding upwardly therefrom 'sufficientlyto"support therail" from I 'I have employed"asphaltuin mats for this purpose, forming'the mat of ra-gstock soaked in asphalltum preferabl containing'some rubber, 'say; about ten per cent'in' volume.

"The upper and lower mats may be made of the same material but their relative hardness beingobtainedby dilfer'ent pressureunder i.

which they are formechthus' giving the under inat' the con'sistency of soft rubber while the uppermat isiha'rd enough to support the rail withoutinaterial spreading.

des'iredthe seat 3* naybe omitted and i the matD plac'edoii the fiat top si' rface'ot the support 'but I prefer to provide the seat to insure the mat rema ning ii prope'r po- G represents a transversely disposed anchor -wl i c h,'where the rail support'is of cons crete or similar" material, iseni'bedded in the support, one of sa d anchors being prov ded adjacent to each'end oi the support. "These anchors are preferably malleable castings. and comprise two vertically d sposed cylindrical sockets 5 connected by an integral web 5 The web 5'is entirely embedded in the material of the support-KB while the upper enasaf the sockets' are fluslfiirithth'e' top "ofthe block at either side of the seat. The low end of t sq ksi r e edi exteriorly enlarged to provide a good anchorage in the material of the support B.

The bores of the sockets are threaded to receive the clamp bolts 6, the upper bores of the sockets being preferably unthreaded but of the full diameter of the bolt. H represents one of the clamps which fits down on top of the socket and through whose axial bore the bolt 6 extends. The head 7 of the clamp is enlarged and preferably circular and has an arcuate or annular beveled under surface as at 8 to overlap and bear down on the base of the rail A as shown. The depending stem 9 of the clamp is arcuate or cylindrical and bears against the edge of the rail base.

The top of the clamp is provided with a concentric circular seat 10 in which is mounted the split spring ring 11 against which bears down the circular washer 12 overlapping the seat 10. When the bolt 6 is screwed down into the socket 5, the clamp H is forced down into resilient engagement with the rail so as to prevent the latter from jumping from the rail support. However the rail is free to expand and contract the clamp H turning on its axis to permit the movement of the rail which it engages.

The bolt 6 does not contact with the bottom of the socket, and I prefer to place in the bottom of the socket a piece of waste 13 permeated with a suitable relatively stiff grease or other lubricant which will be forced through the compression of the waste by the descent of the bolt to travel upwardly and lubricate the threaded engagement of the bolt and socket to prevent oxidation.

The provision of an elastic mat or cushion between the rail and the rail support prevents pounding of the support andalso preserves it. The resilient connection between the rail clamps and the support holds the rail securely to the support notwithstanding the elastic cushion interposed between the rail and the support, thus preventing looseness between the rail and its support notwithstanding their cushion connection.

l Vhile the split spring ring 11 may be omitted, if desired, I prefer to employ the same as it provides for the turning movement of the rail clamp without the possibility of looseness or tendency to rattle.

If desired the rails may rest directly on the support, but I prefer to employ the resilient rail chairs or mats. I

I have shown my invention applied to concrete rail supports. but it will be understood to those skilled in the art that the principle of a clamp engaging the rail and mounted to permit at least a limited rotation may be applied to any known form of rail support without exceeding the limits of my invention.

It will be noted that the beveled surface 8 of the clamp H and the arcuate surface of the stem 9 effectually prevent a jumping movement of the rail relative to its support and also a lateral shifting movement.

VJhat I desire to claim is 1. The combination with a support for a railway rail, of a clamp having an arcuate beveled surface adapted to fit down over the edge of the rail base, and means for securing the clamp to the support, said clamp being mounted so as to be free to rotate to allow for the movement of the rail due to expansion and contraction.

2. The combination with a support for a railway rail, of a clamp having an arcuatc beveled head adapted to fit down on the base of the rail and an arcuate stem portion adapted to engage the edge of the rail base, said stem being provided with a cylindrical bore, and a cylindrical member extending down through the bore of said clamp .and into the support, whereby said clamp is rotatably mounted on said member.

3. The combination with a support for a railway rail, of a clamp having an annular beveled head adapted to fit down on the base of the rail .and a cylindrical stem portion adapted to engage the edge of the rail base, and a bolt extending down through said clamp and screwed into said support, said clamp being arranged to turn on said bolt to permit movement of the rail in expansion and contraction.

4. A fastener for securing a railway rail to its support comprising a clamp member having an axial bore and an annular beveled bearing surface adapted to fit down on the rail base, and a bolt extending down through said bore and into the support, said clamp being rotatable on said member to allow for the movement of the rails due to their expansion and contraction.

5. A fastener for securing a railway rail to its support comprising a clamp having an axial bore and an annular beveled bearing surface adapted to fit down on the rail base, a cylindrical stem adapted to engage the edge of the rail base, and an attaching bolt extending down through the bore into the support, .said clamp being rotatable on said bolt to allow for movement of the rail due to expansion and contraction.

6. The combination of a fastener for securing a railway rail to its support, said fastener having a circular head provided with an annular beveled under surface adapted to engage the rail base from above, a cylindrical stem portion adapted to on gage the edge of the rail base, a bolt extending down through said clamp and engaging the support, and a resilient member interposed between said clamp and the head of said bolt.

7 In a railway track structure, the combination with a rail support and a rail supported thereby, of a mat of resilient masupport and a spring interposed between the terial interposed between the rail and the clamp and the bolt to'takevup the slack due rail support, a clamp having av portion ento the compression of the mat. 1 10 gaging the rail base, a bolt upon which said Signed at Ze1ienople,Pa.,'this 29th day of clamp is rotatably mounted so as to rotate January, 1926."

to allow for the expansion and contraction V p of the rail and connecting said clamp tothe I H. ETHERIDGE. 

